[SOLVED] Under water Cylindrical PC server

[Atevoh]

Greetings,

I am a chemist inquiring on how to build a submergible underwater computer and just had a few questions regarding such. The computer needs to be put into a cylindrical case that is 12 by 4 inches in diameter so I plan on using a Pico-ITX motherboard but was curious if i wanted to go fanless with this build what would be the best processor for moderate to even low end processing power but has a very low TDP and wouldn't output that much heat. The environment (the water) in this scenario would be helping to cool the server so it wouldn't need to be the lowest TDP processor out there, just a lower end one that still can provide some punch. If there is anyone who can that would be fantastic! Thank you so much.

Sincerely,

Harrison

 

[Atevoh]

Temps will vary. Something used in the upper 2m or so surface area (especially in tropical regions) is going to have a much harder time dissipating heat. Start dropping down and temperature gradients will solve all that, at 30m you'd not need a heatsink for a directly connected 10900k overclocked to the moon.

The motherboard itself and any storage are going to be the issue in warmer waters as the case itself will not transfer much heat when there's little temp difference inside to outside. Fans won't help because of the enclosure, 72°C air is still 72°C whether it's moving or not.

Watertight fittings aren't an issue, it's the same theory behind a wired AV, just different cables.

I'd suggest a double case design. Outer white fiberglass/PVC shell that's non-water tight, and an inner aluminium pressure cell. Works on the same principle as a wetsuit, allows water to surround the inner shell, but prevents sunlight from actively heating up the shell at moderate-low depths/surface. Small plexi port on the inner shell giving access to a small lcd screen for OS use. Heatsink being a direct connection from cpu IHS to aluminium shell.

Funnily enough we are located in Florida and will start out by dropping it into a bayou with very moderate to warm temperatures, so we will need to start with something with a low TDP, then once we get to deeper waters we could probably upgrade the processor and surrounding components. It's less about the actual processing power of the technology and more about just getting the thermals and overall use underwater correct. We will eventually swap the internals out with a different technology. The last part of your comment could very well boad a better way to encapsulate our system so i really appreciate that.

 

[Karadjgne]

With servers, you are correct, processor can be minimal, something like a Intel Pentium Gold 5400T at 35w will be plenty just to run the array and networking. I'd not go with AMD just because of bios requirements and possible ram issues that aren't going to be readily remedied.

Cooling won't be much more of an issue than a laptop.

 

[Atevoh]

With servers, you are correct, processor can be minimal, something like a Intel Pentium Gold 5400T at 35w will be plenty just to run the array and networking. I'd not go with AMD just because of bios requirements and possible ram issues that aren't going to be readily remedied.

Cooling won't be much more of an issue than a laptop.

If I wanted to passively cool this processor inside of the case what would be my best bet for a low TDP processor. Which one would I choose?

 

[Karadjgne]

Something out of a laptop, notebook, iPad etc.